The Winnipeg Street Health Report 2011

The report presents the experiences of 300 homeless Winnipeggers and lays out stark findings about their health, security and ability to correct the problem.

The study states economics – and economic discrimination - are the main reasons people become and stay homeless, but other factors, such as mental illness and relationship issues also play roles.

Among the 46-page report’s findings are:

- 60 per cent of Winnipeg’s homeless are of aboriginal descent.- 43 per cent were in the care of the child-welfare system as a youth.- 40 per cent said they were physically assaulted in the last year, but 76 per cent of victims didn’t report the violence to police.- 43 per cent of those interviewed had difficulty cleaning their clothes.- 23 per cent had difficulty finding a place to bathe.- 22 per cent has difficulty finding a place to use a washroom.

Homeless women also faced alarming conditions in terms of their personal safety, the report states:

- 46 per cent of women surveyed said they were physically assaulted in the past year.- 43 per cent said they had been sexually harassed in the past year.- 40 per cent of women felt unsafe in shelters, compared to 28 per cent of men.